Remembering Apollo 11

Remembering Apollo 11: "

40 years ago, three human beings - with the help of many thousands of others - left our planet on a successful journey to our Moon, setting foot on another world for the first time. Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the July 16, 1969 launch of Apollo 11, with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin Jr. aboard. The entire trip lasted only 8 days, the time spent on the surface was less than one day, the entire time spent walking on the moon, a mere 2 1/2 hours - but they were surely historic hours. Scientific experiments were deployed (at least one still in use today), samples were collected, and photographs were taken to document the entire journey. Collected here are 40 images from that journey four decades ago, when, in the words of astronaut Buzz Aldrin: 'In this one moment, the world came together in peace for all mankind'. (40 photos total)

The view from the Apollo 11 Command and Service Module (CSM) 'Columbia' shows the Earth rising above the Moon's horizon on July 20th, 1969. The lunar terrain pictured is in the area of Smyth's Sea on the nearside. (NASA)

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